Ok...I was going to put this up months ago for Silver Moon Droplet's Axel x Kairi contest last autumn but took too long to finish it. So, here it finally is, part one of either two or three chapters. Rating it M just to be safe, but when the story is done let me know if I was right about the rating. Titles are hard to come up with...

And just to warn you, there will be character deaths later on. Oh, and pretend that the Organization characters are the same age as whatever they are as well as an affinity to their elements, and that Sora, Kairi and Riku are in their early 20s. Hopefully they're IC. Takes place in an AU setting.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Twilight Town's outskirts were beginning to darken from incoming storm clouds. The lone building that stood in the outskirts of town was the only research facility for miles. At the moment, the whole company was focused on a secret project, and their employers would not let their employees speak of it outside the building where someone might overhear them. They couldn't risk their ideas being stolen by an outsider.

It had begun to rain, and in one of the upper floors of the building, a lone worker stayed into the late hour of the night, working. Spiky brunette hair was poking up at odd angles, and blue eyes were focused on a single piece of paper laying on the desk. Sora sighed heavily. The paper he was currently reading made no sense to him whatsoever. He should have had Riku take a look at it before he had left for the day. Sora shrugged, and put the paper away into a drawer. If he couldn't make sense of it, then there was no need for him to stay any longer than he already had. He'd bother Riku about the report in the morning.

Sora stood up and stretched. It was getting late, and no doubt Kairi would begin to worry about him any moment now. Sora sighed again. He felt horrible about not telling Kairi why he didn't stay very long at home. She probably thought that he didn't care about her anymore. But that wasn't the case. Sora cared and loved Kairi very much, and was even considering asking her to marry him any day now. Kairi seemed to be waiting for him to ask her. Sora put on his jacket and exited his office.

He would have liked to spend more time with Kairi, but thought, for the time being, it would be best if he didn't linger too long. Sora entered the elevator, punching a button irately and waited as it went down. Sora frowned slightly. He knew that for the past few weeks someone or something had been tailing him very closely, ever since he had overheard part of a suspicious sounding conversation in a local tavern a month or so ago. It was strange that he had chosen that night to go, when he hardly frequented the tavern at all. Sora exited the elevator, and headed for the main entrance, shaking his head slightly. He had probably just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he hadn't really listened carefully to the conversation. Hell, even right now it was all fuzzy to him. No use worrying about it.

Sora exited the building and, after locking the door, struck off onto a drenched path that would lead him home. It was a few miles away, but seeing as cars had been banned in the city and surrounding area, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Which was irritating some days when it rained like this. Sora sighed once more as he walked. Whoever was following him, Sora had no intention of allowing them to see how close he was to Kairi. He didn't want her to get involved in something that could bring her harm.

Sora could suddenly hear voices, and he immediately tensed up. Before he could react, something blunt struck him from behind, causing him to collapse to the ground, dazed. Before Sora lost consciousness, his thoughts dwelled on Kairi. What would happen to her if he didn't show up?

'Kairi.'

Then Sora knew no more as darkness closed in on him.

121

There was a small, quiet neighborhood a few blocks outside Twilight Town. Everyone in their homes were quiet content and in good spirits, despite the drizzle of rain outside. By midnight, the little neighborhood was silent, owning to the fact that most people were fast asleep. Only one person really seemed to be awake.

On the house that began the street, a young woman stared out the window for the upteenth time. She then resumed pacing back and forth, wringing her hands together worriedly. Why hadn't he come back yet? He was always back by ten thirty, it was the latest he said he'd be home. But her worry had been increasing, as this was the next night, and she still hadn't heard from him.

"Oh Sora, where are you?" The young woman, Kairi, murmured. Surely Sora would call her if he were going to be very late like this?

A knock sounded suddenly on the door, and Kairi approached it hopefully. She opened the door and saw, to her disappointment, that it wasn't Sora. It was their next-door neighbor, Axel, who was currently smiling sheepishly at her. "What is it Axel?" Kairi questioned, masking her growing apprehension. Why in the world wasn't Sora back yet?

Axel's smile turned into one of embarrassment, running a hand through his spiked red hair as he answered, "The power went out in my house. I was wondering if me and my friends could crash here for the night."

"How did the power go out?" Kairi asked, looking mildly surprised.

"We're not really sure, but Zexion thinks there might be a problem with the electric generator, " Axel responded.

Kairi shook her head, hiding a smile, "I wonder how that happened."

Axel smirked, "It was probably because Demyx wouldn't stop playing his electric guitar."

Kairi eyed Axel's hair in amusement, "Or someone maybe used the shower too much."

Axel pouted, "Don't be mean. Can we stay for the night?"

Kairi smiled back at him, "Of course you can, the guest room is always open you know."

Axel adopted a doubtful look, "What about Sora? Are you sure he wouldn't mind?"

Kairi let out an annoyed huff, "You know how he is, but don't worry. He never goes into the guest bedroom anyway."

"And why's that?"

"He thinks it's haunted." Kairi replied with a serious face.

"I see..." Axel said, then he beamed at Kairi, "Great! I'll go get Demyx and Zexion then." He turned and ran off back towards his house.

"You can stay if you promise to get your power fixed tomorrow!" Kairi called after him.

"Promise!"

Kairi shook her head as she let out a soft laugh. Axel was always very nice to her, ever since she and Sora had moved to the neighborhood. The only problem was that Sora disliked Axel, so the only time Kairi could talk to him was when Sora was away at work. Axel always has interesting stories to tell, and it was nice to be with someone else instead of being home all alone. Kairi cared for Sora very much, but thought it was silly that, after all the years together, Sora had never asked her to marry him. Kairi still hoped that someday he would. The arrival of Axel and his two friends brought Kairi out of her thoughts.

"Here we are." Axel said cheerfully, grinning. "Can we come in?"

"Of course."

Axel entered the house, flashing another smile at Kairi as he passed her. Zexion came next, inclining his head in a short bow, before following Axel into the living room. Demyx entered the house last, carrying his guitar with him.

"Th...thanks for letting us come over. It would have been pretty cold in Axel's house tonight," Demyx said, bowing slightly.

"No problem!" Kairi responded.

Demyx smiled back and headed for the living room as well.

Kairi went back over to the door and shut it, locking it out of habit. Kairi then went to the living room where Axel and his friends had gone. Axel was lounging on one side of the couch as Kairi sat down on the opposite end of it. Demyx was seated on a cushioned chair, strumming a soft melody on his guitar. Zexion was on another chair, staring off vacantly into space.

A few moments went by, and, when Demyx paused in his playing, Axel suddenly sat up straight and grinned at Kairi, "So. How's Sora? He still grumpy?"

Kairi sighed sadly, "No, not really...he's just been...away more often. I've only been able to see him at night lately."

Axel frowned as he shook his head, "You'd think he'd want to come back as soon as possible to see a pretty lady like yourself."

Kairi managed a small smile.

Axel continued, waving a hand above his head, "Hell, I'd try to get done early just to race home and meet you in time for dinner, then see you in the morning before going back to work."

"Yes...that would be very nice," Kairi replied, and her expression, which had bee happy, turned sad again.

"Miss him?" Axel questioned softly.

"Of course I do...only...I'm not sure Sora misses me the same. He's usually been indifferent when I've seen him lately." Kari responded, willing herself not to cry.

Axel was about to say something concerning Sora's idiocy, when the phone rang.

Kairi got up and raced to the phone. Was it Sora? She answered it with a tenative, "Hello?" There was a silence as the person on the other end spoke. By the end of the conversation, Kairi had tears streaming down her face, "Okay, thanks for letting me know. Yes, please call me if anything is found out. Thank you Riku. Bye." Kairi hung up the phone, letting tears stream down her face unchecked.

As soon as Axel noticed Kairi crying, he was off the couch immediately and by her side, "What's wrong?" Axel wondered, allowing a now sobbing Kairi to hug him.

"S...Sora didn't show up for work today. He never misses work, even if he's a little sick. Riku said they're going to report him missing if he doesn't show up withing 24 hours." Kairi managed to say, hugging Axel more tightly.

Axel patted Kairi's head awkwardly, not really sure what he should do, "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll turn up. Maybe Sora got lost this morning. He does have a bad sense of direction...or it could just have been that it was foggy out." Kairi didn't respond, so Axel gently pried her out of the hug and then led the tearful women back to the couch and had her sit down. Axel grabbed a nearby blanket and drapped it arounf her shoulders, before sitting down next to her and allowing her to use his shoulder as a headrest, as well as a tissue.

"Don't cry too much, you might shrivel up." Axel half-joked, although there was no merriment in his voice. What exactly was going on between Kairi and Sora?

Kairi managed to laugh faintly as she tried to stop crying.

By now, Demyx had stopped playing his guitar all together. It lay against yet another chair, as he and Zexion had been discussing something quietly. The two seemed to come to an agreement.

When neither Axel nor Kairi said anything, Demyx spoke up in a quiet voice, "Kairi?" When Demyx saw Kairi's tear stained face looking at him questioningly, he continued,"Zexion and I can go look for Sora in the morning. Zexion has some connections at his work, so we could trace anything we learn to look for him..." Demyx was cut off as Kairi flung herself onto him in a tight hug.

Kairi let go of the bewildered Demyx, smiling happily at him, "Would you and Zexion really do that for me?"

Demyx recovered from the sudden hug and smiled brightly, "Of course! That's what friends are for. We're glad to help, right Zexion?"

Zexion nodded his head in agreement, allowing Kairi to hug him as well. When Kairi had retreated to the couch, Zexion spoke,"Axel is right, you shouldn't cry too much. I understand how you feel, but you are much prettier when you smile."

Kairi smiled, attempting to stop her tears but being unsuccesful. She was so worried about Sora. "Thank you, Zexion."

Axel handed Kairi a real tissue," You should go and get some rest. Demyx and Zexion can handle looking for Sora, and I can handle fixing my house's power." Axel stood up, shoving Zexion and Demyx towards the guest room, waving good-night to Kairi as he went, "Nighty night princess, see you in the morning."

Kairi half-heartedly made as if to chase after him, causing the red head to drag his friend off to the room, laughing the whole way. Kairi shook her head and lay down on the couch, snuggling underneath the blanket, smiling faintly. She was glad that Axel was there to look out for her when Sora wasn't around. Kairi soon drifted to sleep, deciding to stay on the couch. since she didn't want to go to bed in her own room without Sora there too. In the guest bedroom, Demyx and Zexion were already fast asleep.

Axel, however, remained awake, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing. Why wouldn't Sora have told Kairi anything? Surely he would have confided anything important to her? Axel rolled onto his side, eyes closed. He could faintly make out Kairi trying not to cry in the other room. Axel frowned. When he found Sora, he'd give that idiot a piece of his mind. How dare he make Kairi worry so much! He'd have to try to get her to cheer up in the morning, help her with her worries, even if only for a little while.

121

The following morning...

Kairi brushed a hand across her nose. It tickled and the feeling wouldn't go away. Kairi came wide awake, narrowing her eyes at a grinning Axel who was holding a feather.

"Morning sleepyhead." Axel said cheerfully.

Kairi cast him a withering look as she sat up, clutching the blanket around her shoulders. The house felt rather chilly this morning.

Seeing Kairi's shiver, Axel commented,"I noticed that you forgot to turn on the heat, so i did a little while ago. I also started up some tea. You like to have that in the morning, right?"

Kairi smiled, standing up and heading for the kitchen,"Yes I do, thank you." Kairi cast an amused look over her shoulder at Axel, who was trailing her and looking hopeful,"I suppose you're hungry. Would you like something to eat while you're here?"

"You read my mind." Axel said with a smirk.

Kairi rolled her eyes and swatted Axel playfully. "I'll make some pancakes. Would you mind checking on the tea?"

"Sure thing." Axel dodged another swat from Kairi as he went by first into the kitchen.

Kairi went right for a cupboard wherre she kept the pancake mix. While she was making the batter, Kairi snuck a glance over in Axel's direction, and smiled as he was debating what flavor tea to use. Finally kairi spoke,"Just use the Earl Grey Axel."

Axel looked over at Kairi, flashed a smile, and turned to grab the tea bag. "Right away princess!"

Kairi rolled her eyes as she carried the batter over to the stove, where Axel tried to take it from her, holding a pan in his other hand.

"I can do that. You can get the tea when it's ready. You know better than me how long it's supposed to steep." Axel glanced at the pancake batter. "I suppose we should have some plates too."

Kairi relented after a moment, relinquishing her grasp on the batter and went to go check on the tea. A minute or so later, Kairi lifted the tea pot carefully and carried it over to the table, where she set it down on a hot pad. She also went and grabbed some silverware, momentarily saddened when she remembered that Sora had bought the silverware. Shaking her head lightly, Kairi sat down on one of the chairs and watched in amusement as Axel attempted to flip the pancakes.

The first pancake hit the ceiling as Axel whooped out loud, "Whoa! Look at it go! That one went too high."

Seconds later, Demyx and Zexion entered the kitchen, dressed in new clothing and looking about ready to leave.

Zexion gave a soft sigh and twisted to one side as a pancake flew past where he had been standing previously.

"Sorry!" Axel exclaimed, waving the now empty frying pan.

Kairi was out of her seat and wrestling the pan from Axel's grasp. Once freed, Kairi placed the pan back on the burner and poured some batter onto it. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Axel gave her hurt expression, before dragging his feet as he walked to a chair and sulked at the kitchen table.

Kairi ignored him, knowing that Axel could be melodramatic sometimes. She cooked a few pancakes, before carrying them on a plate over to the table.

Axel was smiling again as the pancakes were set down on the table. He began to reach for them but withdrew his hand after Kairi had rapped it lightly with a spatula. "Not yet." Kairi glanced over at Demyx and Zexion. "Would you two like any pancakes before you go?"

Zexion shook his head. "No, we should probably get going. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked, looking concerned. She didn't notice Axel sneak a pancake from the plate, causing the red-head to grin as he munched away at his prize.

Zexion shook his head, not wanting to answer. Demyx was looking longingly at the pancakes.

Kairi sighed, but knew it was nearly impossible to squeeze out any information from Zexion unless he were willing to give it out on his own. Smiling at Demyx's hungry expression locked on the pancakes and swatting Axel's hand again, Kairi spoke, "I can make you something when you two get back, okay?"

"Mmm, okay." Demyx responded, as he was ushered out of the house by Zexion, who paused to speak to Kairi.

"We'll call you as soon as we find anything useful."

"Thank you Zexion." Kairi replied, and watched as Demyx and Zexion left the house and headed for the sidewalk that would lead them to the research facility miles away. Once they were out of sight, Kairi shut and locked the door, before returning to the kitchen. Kairi then turned her attention to finishing up with making pancakes. Once she was done, Kairi turned off the stove and put the pan in the dishwasher. Kairi picked up the plate of pancakes and carried them over to the table. After grabbing two teacups, she sat down at the table again. She was sitting across from Axel, who was resting his head on the table and eyeing the closest plate of pancakes with a hopeful expression.

Axel licked his lips, mouth watering at the sight of the delicious-smelling food.

Kairi busied herself by pouring the tea, "You can eat now Axel."

Axel immideatley stabbed a pancake with a fork and put it on a plate in front of him. "Mm! Your cooking is great as always." Axel glanced across the table at Kairi with a pout, "But why wouldn't you let me cook?"

Kairi set a cup of tea in front of Axel, as she took a sip of tea from her own. "I don't need pancakes flying all over the place." She pointed to the ceiling with her fork, indicating the pancake stuck there. " You'll need to clean up that one as well as the pancake that you meant to hit Zexion with."

Axel stuffed a large amount of pancake in his mouth. "Mmpf, hmm meh?"

Kairi couldn't help but giggle at Axel's ridiculous expression.

121

Zexion and Demyx arrived outside the research facility where Sora worked. Both were somewhat surprised that some policemen were outside the building, questioning people who went in and out of it. Zexion skirted the front of the building, motioning for Demyx to follow. Zexion led Demyx along the alleyway to the back of the building.

Demyx followed Zexion closely, eying the darkened alleyway nervously. "Where are we going Zexion? I thought we were going through the front door."

"Not with all of those cops around. Besides, we don't know if any of the employees may have had to do with why Sora isn't around." Zexion responded calmly as he made his way to a door at the back of the research facility.

"You think so?" Demyx questioned. "But who would want to do anything to Sora?"

"..." Zexion stepped up to the back door.

Demyx halted next to Zexion, eyeing the door doubtfully. "It doesn't look like we can get in from this side."

Zexion ignored Demyx as he knocked on the door in a kind of pattern. Knock-knockity-knock-knock-Bang-knock

There was a pause, then someone opened the door a bit to peer outside.

"It's me." Zexion stated clearly and urgently.

The door immediately opened wide, allowing Demyx and Zexion to come inside. Once in, the two were confronted by a large figure.

Demyx stared up at the man in open-mouthed surprise, while Zexion merely nodded to the tall man. "Good morning Lexaeus, how are you?"

The tall man, Lexaues, nodded back, "I'm fine...what brings you here? Who's your friend?" Lexaeus cast an amused glance in Demyx's direction. Zexion kicked Demyx lightly to bring him out of his surprise and replied, "This is Demyx, he's another friend of mine." Zexion looked away from Demyx, who had begun to apologize, and back to Lexaeus. "We're here because we wanted to ask you some questions about Sora."

Lexaeus suddenly appeared to be uncomfortable. "Ah, that. I was wondering when people would start to get worried."

"The police are already beginning to question others in the building." Zexion said.

Lexaeus glanced around, as if expecting someone to be eavesdropping. Lexaeus then lowered his voice. "I heard that Sora had run into some trouble with a group of people for overhearing some of their conversation at a tavern a few weeks back. I had actually just sent someone a few hours ago to check on that lead. I have heard that that group usually doesn't just target one person, but anyone that they may have contact with."

"Hmm, but they wouldn't go after any of the other employees, because they all leave around the same time. Only Riku and Sora usually leave late..." Zexion mused, then stopped and looked sharply at Lexaeus. "Is Riku still around?"

"Oh, yes, and he's quite worried with Sora not showing up to work." Lexaeus replied.

But Zexion's mind was what Lexaeus had said before. About the group that targets those who had contact with the culprit. Since the employees were safe and Riku was as well, that meant...Zexion's yes widened. They couldn't know about Kairi, could they?

"Phone." Zexion snapped suddenly at Demyx, who immediately began to fumble around in his pockets for said item. "Hurry." Zexion urged irritably.

121

Kairi busied herself by cleaning up after breakfast. She had said good-bye to Axel, who had left for his own house, promising to get his power fixed. Kairi put away some plates. She really didn't mind Axel coming over to visit. It was nice to have someone to talk to when you were alone for most of the day. Kairi didn't notice a shadow pass by the kitchen window, an ominous clink sound accompanying it.

Next door, Axel was having a heated argument with a repairman.

"What do you mean you're busy all week?"

"I'm sorry sir, but others have been having electrical problems lately. Twilight Town's electic grid has been off this month." The repairman said apologetically.

"I need to get it fixed. Don't you have any openings today or tomorrow?"

"Let me check."

"Dammit." Axel muttered as he heard the repairman set the phone down, and by the sound of it, was looking through his paper schedule. Axel tapped his foot on the ground in annoyance.

the repairman got back to him minutes later, and Axel argued a bit more before finally agreeing to have them come over the next day to fix his power. Axel hung up and stowed the cell phone away, sighing dejectedly. "Kairi's going to be annoyed..." Axel muttered, his eyes straying to the living room window that faced Kairi's house. He froze, spotting a black-clad figure attempting to break into the back door of Kairi's house.

Axel whipped out his cell phone, but found, to his irritation, that it had run out of power. "Just my luck...," Axel grumbled, then headed for his house's back door. Making sure he locked the door after him, Axel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The person in black hadn't managed to break in, and at the moment was very glad that Kairi always had the doors securely locked. Bracing himself, Axel raced across the yard, making a beeline for what he believed was an intruder. 'Hope he doesn't have a weapon on him...' Axel thought as he ran.

121

Kairi had just finished up with cleaning and was thinking about checking the garden out back when the phone rang. Kairi abandoned her plans as she picked up the phone. Was it Sora?

"Kairi?"

"Oh, hello Demyx." Kairi said, hiding her disappointment. "Have you found anything out?" Kairi questioned. She heard the phone on the other line being fumbled with, and Zexion was suddenly speaking in a serious tone.

"Are all of the doors locked? The windows?"

Kairi blinked in surprise, "Yes, of course they are. Why?"

"Don't leave the house alone. Demyx and I found out that an organization was targeting Sora because he overheard one of their conversations, some of which included stealing information. One of my informants thinks that when they figured out where he worked, and that they wanted to know about the projects his company was working on. So, we may know why he's disappeared, but...you must not leave the house on your own." Zexion took a breath, then continued. "We've spoken to Riku only moments ago, and he said he was targeted as well but managed to get away."

"Riku? Why would these people you're talking about go after him?" Kairi wondered.

"We think that he may have known some passcode to get into strictly prohibited areas of the building. The other person would be the director themselves...and Sora." Zexion responded, "If they want to get in the building, then they'd need to force the passcode out of Sora..."

"But Sora wouldn't do that, so he's in danger?" Kairi asked apprehensively.

"We're not positive, but Sora may have managed to slip away and doesn't want to show himself. But the people who were after him must know about you, even if Sora was only there occasionally. We'll keep you updated if we learn anything else, but for the time being, be careful." Zexion stated in a calm voice.

"I will Zexion, thank you. I'll call Axel, I should be safe with him around..." Kairi broke off, hearing a crash, accompanied by swearing, from the backyard.

"You damned bastard! Where the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Dammit!"

"Yeah, you better run you prick! Wait 'till I get my hands on you!"

"Persistent pest!"

"What was that?" Zexion asked, sounding alarmed.

"I'm not sure. I'll take a look out the window and see." Kairi hurried over to the kitchen window in time to see Axel chasing off a figure clad in black. Kairi felt a chill go down her spine. Where had that figure come from?

"Kairi? Kairi! What is it?" Zexion exclaimed from the other end of the line.

"Axel...he...he just chased a man in black away from the house. I need to hang up, I think he's hurt." Kairi said urgently, seeing Axel limp towards the house.

"Very well, we'll call when we hear more."

"Right, thank you Zexion." Kairi hung up the phone and hurried to the front door, opening it to allow Axel inside.

Axel came in, flashing Kairi a small smile as he limped to the couch in the living room.

Kairi shut the door and locked it, glad now that she always remembered to lock it. What would have happened if that person had gotten into the house? Shaking her head, she rushed to the nearest bathroom and gathered some medical supplies. She then went into her bedroom and came out with some spare clothing. Kairi set what she was carrying onto the nearest chair, then looked over at Axel, who was sitting gingerly on the couch, "Are you all right?" Kairi bit her lip when she saw his injuries.

Axel's left leg had a shallow gash bleeding on one thigh, his right arm cut and bleeding from the shoulder to the elbow. A slightly larger, deeper gash ran across his chest, staining the front of his shirt crimson. Axel caught Kairi's look, and managed to give her an amused smile, "I'll be fine, don't worry. That guy wasn't being very nice, he was trying to break the back door open. I told him to clear off, but of course, instead of leaving he went after me instead. That's when I got slashed on my arm and across my chest. I managed to orient myself and gave him a good kick. Got my leg though. Took off after that." Axel winced, sighing slightly. "Went after him, but he got away. Wonder who he was..."

"Well...Demyx and Zexion called. They said that Sora might be targeted because of hearing a conversation, but also because he's one of the only people who knows some code to get into a top secret area or something in the facility. Zexion also said I shouldn't leave the house by myself." Kairi told him, turning to grab the medical supplies.

"Hmm..." Axel hummed, drumming his fingers together in thought.

"Let me take a look at your injuries. I can't believe you. What would you have done if they had a gun?" Kairi scolded, indicating for Axel to take his shirt off.

Axel shrugged out of his shirt, wincing and cursing as Kairi immediately set upon it with ointment. "Ngh, dammit, that stings! Well, I could have asked him politley to drop it so we could talk things out. Then I could find something heavy to throw when he was doing that...oww! Careful!"

"Don't be stupid. You couldn't do that." Kairi bandaged the injuries, hoping that Axel wouldn't need stitches. That was one thing she couldn't do. She backed off momentarily, and there was a silence as she and Axel glanced down at his injured thigh. Kairi abruptly blushed and looked away. "I'll need to treat that too I suppose. You better have boxers on this time." She had unfortunately seen Axel and a few of his buddies drunk on New Year's Eve, wearing nothing but speedos or underwear. She had no desire to ever see anything like that again. Kairi also had a hard time denying that she had kind of found Axel attractive even when he was completely smashed. Kairi blushed. Why was she thinking that? She loved Sora...

Axel removed his pants unabashedly, speaking as he did," Don't worry, I have boxers on." He settled back on the couch with a wry grin, "You know you like it."

Kairi turned, keeping her gaze firmly on Axel's injured thigh, and not the boxers, deciding not to comment. She cleaned the injury, applied some medication and wrapped it up with bandages. Kairi stood up and went back to the chair to grab the clothing she had gotten before. Kairi turned back to see Axel lounging more comfortably on the couch, grinning. Kairi gave him a bored look. She was used to Axel's weird way of flirting. It was fine, since he knew that she and Sora were going out. Axel still liked to flirt nonetheless. Kairi's bored look turned to one of mock irritation. "You can't be in the house without more clothing on."

Axel merely grinned cheekily in reply.

Kairi crossed her arms, unable to not glance at Axel's boxers. "Why are there flames on your boxers?"

Axel appeared to have been waiting for this question, because his grinned widened,"Because I have a blazing personality." His response was a shirt and pants flung at his head.

Karii had her hands on her hips. "Okay Mr. Hotshot, put the clothes on."

Axel shook the clothes off his head and pouted. "All right." he pulled on the shirt first. It had a picture of a moogle on it. Axel gave it an amused upside down glance as he wrggled into the pants, wincing. "Is this your shirt?"

Kairi giggled. "No, it's Sora's. He practically begged to get it at a thrift shop. It was funny to watch."

Axel snickered. "Who knew Mr. Depressing liked fluffy moogles." He poked at the shirt, still highly amused.

"Look who's talking," Kairi laughed back. Silence fell, then "Are you going to get your power fixed today?"

Axel heaved a sigh. "The guy was being annoying. The earliest he could get over in this area was tomorrow morning."

"So, you'll need to stay over again?" Kairi asked, smiling mischiveously. "I don't know...you promised to get it fixed today."

Axel looked at Kairi with puppy dog eyes. "You wouldn't leave me out in the cold, would you?"

Kairi sat down on the couch and gave him a playful shove. "Of course not. You're more than welcome here." Since Axel was smiling again, Kairi added. "As long as you help me with some of the chores."

Axel's expression turned into one of weariness, and he sprawled on the couch, groaning, "Ohh...I'm too weak to do any chores. I need sleep and something to eat to get my strength back..." Axel sighed dramatically and lay limp on the couch.

Kairi held back her laughter and poked Axel in the stomach, drawing forth an immediate reaction.

Axel doubled over with a laugh, drawing away from Kairi and leaning against a cushion. "No fair." Axel muttered, massaging his stomach with a hurt expression.

"I think you're fine Axel. Come on, help me with the landry. I'll fix your clothes once they're clean." Kairi stated, standing up and heading for the laundry room.

Axel rose, and, grabbing his clothing, followed after her, complaining. "You're a slave driver."

"Hmm, I wonder. Don't you like helping out?"

"..."

When the two were out of view, a shadow passed across the living room. Neither Axel nor Kairi noticed that a figure outside the house had been observing them from a window. Once Kairi and Axel were out of view, it had left from behind the window.

121

Zexion and Demyx, after learning a few more facts from Lexaeus, left the building and exited into the alleyway.

Zexion was immediately on alert as soon as he had left the building, glancing around suspiciously.

"What is it Zexion?" Demyx whispered, joining his friend in looking around.

"Damn." Zexion muttered, then, without warning, shoved Demyx roughly to one side.

Demyx let out a startled cry and stumbled backwards towards the door they had come out of. Demyx winced and glanced up, in time to see Zexion take a crushing blow to the head, which knocked him out, where he lay prone on the ground. Demyx scrambled to his feet and began to bang on the door. "Help! Help! Lexaeus! Help!"

The door opened abruptly, and Lexaeus came out. He assessed the situation, darting out to grab Zexion, then back to Demyx, who was still in shock. Lexaeus slammed the door shut and locking it behind him, angry cries issuing from behind it.

Lexaeus lay Zexion down on his back on the ground, and turned to Demyx, who was kneeling next to Zexion, looking frightened, still in shock over what happened. "Stay here with Zexion. I'll get an ambulence."

"Thank you." Demyx said quietly, as Lexaeus left the room momentarily. Demyx glanced down at Zexion with a sadened expression. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. Thanks for getting me out of the way."

121

Kairi and Axel chatted as they waited for the laundry to be finished. But the cheerful atmosphere didn't last for long. Kairi and Axel were interrupted as they had begun to argue over where the best place was to go to meet friends. Axel was arguing in favor of a party place, while Kairi argued for a more quiet atmosphere, but wasn't saying where she thought that was. A soft knock on the front door caused both if them to jump.

"Stay here." Axel murmured, heading towards the front door cautiously. "Who is it?" Axel demanded gruffly, bracing himself. He was surprised when it was a familiar voice that answered.

"It's me, can I come inside?" The voice was unmistakibley Riku's.

Axel opened the door and allowed Riku to come inside. Axel made to shut the door, but Riku stopped him. Frowning, Axel turned to face Riku. "Have you heard from Sora at all?"

Riku shook his head. "No, not a word...but that may be a good sign. If Sora was able to give those people the slip..."

"Axel? Who is it? Oh! Riku!" Kairi came from the laundry room to see what had been taking Axel so long. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just stopping by to check on you. I'm sure this must be hard on you." Riku responded, a faint smile creasing his face.

"Oh Riku, it's nice that you're worried too. I'll be fine, I just hope that Sora'll turn up soon." Kairi told Riku, who merely nodded in agreement.

Riku turned his attention to Axel, noticing his limp. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's not a big deal." Axel said casually.

"Well, I should really get going. I need to make sure I get to work. I just wanted to see how you were doing Kairi. If I hear anything about Sora, I'll let you know, okay?" Riku nodded to Axel, gave another small, fleeting smile to kairi, before turning and exiting the still-open door.

Kairi went to shut the door. "Thank you Riku." She watched him raise a hand in farewell, as he walked along the sidewalk. Kairi closed the door, locking it. Kairi headed back to the laundry room, followed by Axel, who seemed to be thinking about something. Once the laundry was done, Kairi and Axel went back into the living room, where Kairi began to fix Axel's clothing. Neither noticed that someone had been in the house and gone earlier. They had left no sign that they had been there. In any case, Kairi and Axel didin't think anything was amiss.

Kairi shivered suddenly. "Axel, is it a bit chilly in here?"

Axel glanced up from a lamp he was fiddling with. Axel shrugged as he set the lamp down on a nearby table, "It's not too bad. Want me to turn up the heat?"

Kairi stopped sewing and set it aside. "No, I can. You really shouldn't be with those injuries." Kairi stood up and walked over to where the thermostat was and pressed a few buttons. Nothing happened. Kairi frowned. "That's strange, I thought Sora had fixed it. And you turned it on this morning."

Axel leaned forward and tilted his head, so that he could see Kairi and her troubled expression. Axel stood up, stretching, "Would you like me to go check the generator? I know what's wrong with the one at my house, so I could check and see if we have the same problems."

Kairi wanted to argue, but relented, seeing that Axel was eager for something to do. Kairi smiled, "All right, but don't overexert yourself."

Right princess." Axel answered.

Kairi rolled her eyes, but walked off towards the basement, Axel trotting along next to her with a grin. Both stopped when the phone rang.

"Maybe that's news about Sora..." Kairi murmured, hurrying to answer the phone.

Axel hovered by the entrance to the basement, wondering what to do. Deciding that Kairi could deal with the phone, he would deal with the furnace. Axel descended the stairs, holding onto the railing for support. Axel got to the bottom of the stairs and approached the furnace.

Almost immediately, Axel noticed that something was wrong. Axel's eyes caught sight of something next to the furnace. Axel gave it one look, before dashing up the stairs as quickly as his injuries would allow.

Back in the basement, next to the generator, a box was latched to it. Neon numbers were glowing ominously.

121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212

And the story will get significantly more violent in the next chapter, so hopefully I can get the next part typed up and posted within a few days. While that's going on, how is this for an AU story? I was only going on a Kairi x Axel pairing for the challenge. Is it any good so far?